Waiter&#39;s cabinet.



PATENTED JUNE 16, 1908.

B. H. FARRELL. W'AITBRS CABIN-ET.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 4.1901,

TIT].

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

rm: NLKRRIS PETERS 00., WASHINGTON, n c.

No. 891,155. PATENTED JUNE'IG, 1908.

B. H. FARRELL WAITERS CABINET.

APPLIOATIO II FILED JUNE 4. 1907.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Wii'mmom c in. Z4 21, NZZI THE Mamas PETERS cm. WASHINGTON, n. c.

PATENTED JUNE 16, 1908.

9 B. H. FARRELL.

WAITERS. CABINET.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 4 1907 3 SHEETB BHEET 3 Fi l2 M D E@ m THE NORRISPETERS co wAsHluc-Tcu, n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT orrion.

BURT H. FARRELL, OF DEADWOOD, SOUTH DAKOTA, ASSIGNOR TO FARRELL CABINET& SYSTEM COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

WAITERS CABINET.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 16, 1908.

Application filed June 4, 1907. Serial No. 377,147.

To all whom "it may concern:

Be it known that I, BURT H. FARRELL, a resident of Deadwood, in thecounty of Lawrence and State of South Dakota, have invented certain newand useful-Improvements in Waiters Cabinets; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains tomake and use the same.

This invention relates to waiters individual cabinets of the generalcharacter set forth in my application number 336,050, filed Sept. 24,1906, that is, cabinets for use in hotel dining rooms etc, where eachwaiter has a cabinet near the tables to be served by him, in whichcabinets are stored a quantity of table ware, table linen, and otherarticles such as ordinarily needed in serving guests, each cabinetcontaining as many of these articles as the corresponding Waiter willneed at any one meal, and confusion and loss of time occasioned by gointo a distant or to a common supply avoided. Each waiter has means forlocking and unlocking his cabinet, as set forth in said application, orotherwise. Thus the waiter can be held responsible for all articlesstored in his cabinet, the manager keeping record of supplies by meansof a chart.

i t is desirable that cabinets of this character be adapted for useeither in groups of four, or of two, or separately, according to thesize and arrangement of the dining room; also that floor space beeconomized, particularly when cabinets are grouped, and that eachcabinet comprise also an efficient tray support which utilizes the samefloor space as the body of drawers.

The invention consists in the construction hereinafter described andpointed out.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a groupof four cabinets; Fig. 2 is a partial plan of said group; Fig. 3 is adiagrammatic view showing form of the lower parts of the cabinets, andarrangement of extensions; Fig. 4 is an en larged side view of a bracketdetached; Fig.

5 is a perspective view of two cabinets grouped; Fig. 6 is a side viewof a screen; Fig. 7 is a vertical section of a holder; Fig. 8 is apartial section of another holder; Fig. 9 is a view, partly diagrammaticshowing the use of the screen on a single cabinet; Fig. 10 is a verticalsection of-the butter drawer,

showing cutter in operated position; Fig. 11 is a perspective view ofsaid drawer, the cutter being in position to be operated; Figs. 12, 13,14, 15 and 16 are plan views of several cabinet drawers, the last threebeing on a reduced scale; Fig. 17 is a section on line 17, 17; Fig. 18is a vertical section of a cabinet showing locking means; and Fig. 19'isa front view of the locking means enlarged.

Each cabinet 1 comprises a main body containing several drawers 2, forvarious articles of table service, and an elevated traysupporting framesecured to the top of the body, and of convenient height to receive awaiters tray in service. Said frame consists of two bent metal bars 3,the feet of which are secured by screws. As shown, the top parts ofthese bars have parts 4 extending to one side of the leg parts thereoffor a purpose hereinafter described. The bars 3 of the frame areconnected by a brace bar 5, which extends around three sides of theframe leaving the fourth side open for admission and removal of the opendrawer 6 designed tables. Bar 5 is placed at a level below or at the topof the drawer.

In grouping four cabinets they stand corner to corner, leaving a squarewell or central space at the top all of which is utilized. Along theproximate sides of the four cabinets are placed washers or holders 7 forused silver (knives, etc.) as it is brought from the tables. Preferablythese washers have restricted openings in their tops to prevent easyunauthorized removal of articles therefrom. Each of these holders ismade as much shorter than the depth of a cabinet as the width of aholder, whereby they fit together snugly around the well, and so as toslip into and out of place readily. The trough-like tops of the holdershave slots 8 to admit one article at a time, and below each slot is aninclined plate 9 (Fig. 5) to break the fall of deposited articles and toprevent unauthorized withdrawal thereof, the top of the holder beinglocked by suitable means controlled by the corresponding waiter. Belowplate 9 is a plate 9 normally held horizontal to catch depositedarticles to avoid noise that would occur if they fell into the bottombox, said plate being movable to vertical position to drop articlesbelow it. Both plates 9 and 9 may have a surface layer of cork, rubber,or the like to further reduce to receive soiled dishes from the noise.In the space left by holders 7 and arranged in the same manner, areother holders 11, for miscellaneous articles needed by waiters, ascatchup, mustard, etc. Holders 11 are open on one side and are pulledout vertically when an article is to be taken therefrom. Between holders11 is a space for an electric light'support, which may carry a platform11 for any desired use.

The lower part of the cabinet is made with a cut away corner 12, mostclearly shown in Fig. 3. To the inner end of each cabinet and at thefront thereof, at 13, is hinged an extension body 14 containing severaldrawers, said extension body is of less depth than the main body, thatis, it does not extend back as far as the main body, as shown.

Drawer 15 is designed for ice, and may have a compartment for other use.

Drawer 16 is specially constructed for butter, having attachmentsfor'conveniently, quickly and evenly dividing butter in 00111-paratively large blocks into individual orders of known number. Themetal bottom 16 of this drawer rises to a central grooved ridge 16 andeach inclined surface has parallel grooves 17 to receive the cuttingwires, in-

suring a clean out at the bottom. The cutter comprises side wires 18, acentral wire 19, and two series of cutting wires 18 connected to theside and central wires by loops 21. One side wire is hinged in thedrawer at the bottom of one side at 18. The opposite side wire has ahandle 22 hinged to it. In use the cutter is raised as in Fig. 11 andblocks of butter placed on the bottom, on one or both of the oppositeinclines thereof, as much as one waiter will need at a meal; the cutterwhen pulled over and pressed down as in Fig. 10 divides the butter intosmall parts. The jointed and swinging construction gives a good cuttingoperation, which is aided by the inclined position of the blocks. 21 arecatches, one or more, to pull the cutter taut as it is pressed down. Theportions on the opposite inclines are kept apart, and of course a singleblock can be cut when desired.

Drawer 26 is a water box closed except for a filling opening 27, andhaving a suitable faucet. When four cabinets are grouped the extensions14 are swung to the angular, overlapping and meeting situation mostclearly shown in Fig. 3. This leaves them in such position that accessto the drawers in extension 14 of each cabinet is not obstructed by theadjacent cabinet. Spaces 28 are left, one for each cabinet, which can bereached from above, and are convenient for soiled linen from the tablesbefore it is sent to the laundry. Further, parts 14 form all the supportrequired for the holders 7 and 11.

When but two of the cabinets are grouped the arrangement may be thatshown in Fig. 5, that is, side by side and oppositely facing,

in which case extension bodies 14 are swung close to and parallel withtheir respective cabinets. This affords space and support for theholders 7 and 11, as shown. It also provides a space 28 at the rear ofeach cabithe body, and the holders rest thereon in the same manner as oneither cabinet in Fig. 5.

In this case the space 28 is inclosed by the screen arranged asindicated in Fig. 9. One or more braces 33 secured to opposite leaves,at 33, may be used to increase the stability of the screen, if desired,since it supports or aids in supporting a holder 7 or 11. Preferablyholders 11 are provided with hooks 34,v

one or more, to engage a holder 7 or other more stable part to reducedanger of accidental displacement.

35 denotes a waiters serving tray, to the bottom of which are securedtwo oppositely bent plates forming channels 36. The distance between thebottoms of the channels is a trifle greater than the distance betweenthe outer edges of the extensions 4 of bars 3; and the distance betweenthe inner ends 37 of the plates is a little greater than the distancebetween the outer edges of the leg parts of said parts 3. makes itpossible to slip the tray endwise onto the support, parts 4 enteringchannels 36 and forming a sure means for preventing accidentaldisplacement of the tray when loaded. Further when necessary two suchtrays can be placed on a support at the same time, as owing to theconnection described the trays can safely project considerably at eitherend. It is however preferred when more than one waiter are to beassigned to one cabinet to provide an extension-traysupport frame,comprising bars 3 hinged ,to bars 3 at 38, connected by a cross bar 39,and having collapsible brackets 40 adapted to hold the extension in linewith the main frame, as in Fig. 1, or to lower the same.

To facilitate keeping account of the various articles in the waiterscabinets by means of suitable sheets or charts on which they arerecorded, the drawers are specially formed for the articles to be puttherein. Drawer N o. 1 has spaces for silver as spoons, forks, etc. eachspace being marked with a numberbeing the number of articles belongingin that space. The articles for eachdrawer are marked to show whatcabinet they belong in so that they may not be mixed with those of othercabinets. One or more drawers,

see N0. 2, is or are fixed with racks 41 for This construction I knivesetc.- The spaces are numbered in order and preferably so that when aknife is put in place it covers the number. The knives havecorresponding numbers, as well as cabinet numbers. Some of the drawers,as No. 3 and No. 4, have partitions and shelves 42, 43, to providespaces for articles of various sizes and shapes. The space under shelf43 drawer No. 3 is reached through a slot 44 (see Fig. 5) in the frontend of the drawer. This is a convenient place for the crumb trayaccessible without opening the drawer. Drawer N0. 4 has strips 45supported above the bottom and leaving a slot between them into whichthe stems of glasses can be slipped. The drawer or drawers for cups,plates, etc. have specially marked or shaped spaces 46, and these lowerdrawers preferably have perforated bottoms, as in Fig. 16, to allowcirculation of warm air rising from a heater in the bottom space, hereshown as an electric heater 47. This space has no drawer but is closedby a door hinged at 48 at the lower edge and held up by a catch 49 Theperforations are between the special places assigned for designatedarticles so as not to be covered by said articles, and so as not to hidemarkings of the spaces when such markings are used.

At the rear of the drawers inside the cabinet is a vertical bar 50 withslotted ends and cut out at the center with cross pieces 51 at intervalssecuredto the bar. Several of the drawers have hooks 52 which when thedrawers are closed stand above pieces 51. One drawer, preferably the topone, has a wedge-end piece 53 which when the drawer is out allows bar 50to drop but when pushed in engages a cross piece 54 suitably placed andsecured, and raises the bar engaging all the hooks. The top drawer isthen locked by any suitable lock and key, indicated at 55.

What I claim is 1. A waiters cabinet comprising a main body containingdrawers, an end extension body of less height than the main body, saidextension body being hinged to a front corner of the main body andmovable to a position alongside thereof or diagonally therefrom, anddrawers in the extension body accessible from the outside in eitherposition of said extension body.

2. .A cabinet comprising a main body containing drawers, a corner of thebody being cut away or beveled, and an end extension body containingdrawers, adjustably fixed to the end of the main body having the cutaway corner.

3. The combination of several cabinets forming a compact group, eachcabinet comprising a main body having drawers, and an extension bodyextending diagonally from the main body meeting and fitting similarparts of other cabinets of the group.

4. The combination of several cabinets forming a compact group, eachcabinet com prising a main body containing drawers, and an extensionbody also containing drawers and extending diagonally from the mainbody, meeting and fitting similar parts of other cabinets, the severalextension bodies constituting supports for holders fitting the spacebetween the grouped cabinets above the extensions, and said holders.

5. The combination of several cabinets forming a group, each cabinetcomprising a body with drawers, a rear corner of each cabinet being cutaway, and an extension body also having drawers and extending diagonallyfrom the main body, said cut away corner of each cabinet allowing thedrawers of the diagonally arranged exten sion of the proximate cabinetto be moved out and in at an angle with the drawers in the main body.

6. The combination of several cabinets forming a group, each cabinetcomprising a main body the upper part of which is rectangular, and thelower part of which has a cut away corner, said upper part meetingcorner to corner, and diagonally supported drawers movable in and out bysaid cutaway corners.

7. A waiters cabinet comprising a main body having drawers, an endextension body of less depth than the main body, said extension bodybeing hinged to a front corner of the main body and movable to aposition alongside thereof or diagonally therefrom, and drawers in theextension body accessible from the outside in either position of saidextension body, whereby when a plurality of cabinets are grouped saidextensions fit together and form receptacles adapted to receive articlessuch as table linen, as set forth.

8. The combination of a cabinet body having a cut away corner, anextension body, a screen having hinged sections, means for securing thescreen to the extension and to the main body to inclose the cut awaycorner, and a brace between separate sections of said screen.

9. A waiters cabinet comprising a main body having drawers, a traysupporting frame fixed to the top of said body, the frame having legs,and horizontal portions wider transversely than said legs, and ofconvenient height to receive a tray in service, and a tray havingchannels secured to its bottom adapted to engage said wider horizontalportions, the channels being at such distance apart as to pass endwiseinto engagement therewith without striking the le s.

1.0. The combination of the main cabinet, the tray supporting framecomprising horizontal and leg portions, said frame being secured to thetop of the cabinet, an open drawer between the cabinet and the traysupporting frame, and means for bracing the supporting frame above thecabinet and at or below the top of the drawer.

11. The cabinet body, the main tray-supporting frame fixed to the top ofsaid body, and the extension tray-supporting frame hinged to the end ofthe main frame.

12. The cabinet body, the main tray-supporting frame, fixed to the topof said body,

and an adjustable eXtension tray-supporting frame comprising bars 3 aconnecting bar therefor, hinge connections wlth the main tray-supportingframe, and means for holding said extension frame 111 line with the mainframe, or, alternatively, allowing the same to be lowered.

In testimony whereof, I have signed this specification in the presenceof two subscribng witnesses BURT H. FARRELL.

WVitnesses EDWARD TREVASKIS, LEE H. FARRELL.

